U.S. patent number 8,915,040 [Application Number 13/630,735] was granted by the patent office on 2014-12-23 for plastic barriers.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Valmont Highway Technology Limited. The grantee listed for this patent is AXIP Limited. Invention is credited to Dallas Rex James.
United States Patent |
8,915,040 |
James |
December 23, 2014 |
Plastic barriers
Abstract
A temporary plastic barrier section includes a plastic shell
having first and second plastic connection portions integrally
formed on opposite ends thereof; and a rigid straight elongate
member, wherein the rigid straight elongate member lies
substantially adjacent to at least a portion of each of the first
and second connection portions, and wherein the rigid straight
elongate member includes connection points at the distal ends
thereof which are configured to align substantially with the first
and second connection portions.
Inventors: |
James; Dallas Rex (Auckland,
NZ) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
AXIP Limited |
Auckland |
N/A |
NZ |
|
|
Assignee: |
Valmont Highway Technology
Limited (Auckland, NZ)
|
Family
ID: |
47991328 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/630,735 |
Filed: |
September 28, 2012 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20130081348 A1 |
Apr 4, 2013 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
Current U.S.
Class: |
52/588.1;
52/302.4; 52/220.2; 404/6; 404/9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
E01F
15/086 (20130101); E01F 15/088 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
E04B
2/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;52/588.1,220.1,220.2,302.3,302.4 ;404/6,9 ;256/26 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Gilbert; William
Assistant Examiner: Ford; Gisele
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Greer, Burns & Crain, Ltd.
Claims
What I claim is:
1. A temporary plastic barrier section comprising: a plastic shell
having: a height and a width; a first plastic connection portion
integrally formed on a first end; a second plastic connection
portion integrally formed on a second end opposite said first end;
wherein the first connection portion each and the second connection
portion includes at least one connection point formed therein, said
first and second connection portions each being oriented on an axis
substantially parallel to the height of the plastic shell; and a
rigid straight elongate member having at least one connection point
at substantially each end thereof, wherein the rigid straight
elongate member extends from the first connection portion to the
second connection portion and wherein the connection points at each
end of the rigid straight elongate member are located on the axis
of the first and second connection portions and align substantially
with the connection points formed in the first and second
connection portions.
2. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the plastic shell includes a passage which passes from an
aperture near to or substantially adjacent the first connection
portion to a position near to or substantially adjacent to the
second connection portion.
3. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the first and second connection portions are
complementary.
4. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the first and second connection portions are substantially
identical.
5. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the rigid straight elongate member provides tensile
strength to substantially resist any longitudinal deformation of
the plastic shell.
6. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the rigid straight elongate member is configured to shear
or break when subjected to a direct impact substantially orthogonal
to the longitudinal axis of the rigid elongate member.
7. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the rigid straight elongate member is a substantially
straight steel bar.
8. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 1
wherein the plastic shell has a base region and includes: a first
aperture therein positioned adjacent the first connection portion;
and a second aperture therein positioned adjacent the second
connection portion, wherein the apertures are aligned substantially
parallel with respect to the base region on opposing ends of the
plastic shell.
9. A temporary plastic barrier section, as claimed in claim 1,
forming a section of a wall of interconnected temporary plastic
barrier sections, wherein the rigid straight elongate member of the
temporary plastic barrier section is connected to a rigid straight
elongate member of an adjacent temporary plastic barrier section,
thereby forming a chain of interconnected temporary plastic barrier
sections.
10. The temporary plastic barrier section as claimed in claim 9
wherein the plastic shell includes apertures in the first and
second connection portions which align coaxially with corresponding
apertures in the portions of the rigid straight elongate member
which lie adjacent the connection portions.
11. A rigid straight elongate member for use with a plastic shell;
the plastic shell having a first and a second connection portion
formed on opposite ends of the plastic shell; and having a passage
which passes from an aperture near to or substantially adjacent the
first connection portion to a position near to or substantially
adjacent to the second connection portion; wherein the rigid
straight elongate member is configured to be passed through the
passage in the plastic shell, and includes at least one connection
point in the form of an aperture passing orthogonally through the
rigid straight elongate member at substantially each end thereof;
and wherein the rigid straight elongate member is configured so
that when located in the plastic shell by way of the at least one
aperture the at least one connection point in each end of the rigid
straight elongate member lies substantially adjacent to a
corresponding connection point located in the first and second
connection portions of the said plastic shell.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to improvements in plastic barriers.
The present invention has particular application in regard to
plastic barriers which, in use, form a section of a temporary
plastic wall.
BACKGROUND
Plastic shell barriers are used in situations whereby a temporary
safety measure is required. Plastic shell barriers are convenient
in that when they are empty they are easy to transport and position
as required due to their relatively light weight. Once in position
plastic barriers are typically interconnected together to form a
temporary barrier wall and filled with water so as to provide the
barrier wall with sufficient inertia to resist and absorb impact
energy during a collision. During a collision it is the purpose of
the barrier wall to re-direct an impacting vehicle back onto a
roadway.
One problem that exists with walls formed by a plurality of plastic
barriers is that when any one barrier is impacted by a vehicle,
that barrier may be pushed out of alignment with an adjacent
barrier. This misalignment results in a kink or step being formed
in the wall of barriers. This step or kink in the wall may result
in the impacting vehicle becoming hooked by the kink or step and
being spun or flipped. Ideally a temporary barrier wall should
maintain alignment between adjacent barrier sections so that an
impacting vehicle is re-directed away from the barrier wall at an
angle of incidence substantially equal to or less than the impact
angle.
Attempts to maintain alignment between adjacent barriers have been
made by connecting adjacent barriers at their ends. Due to the
nature of the material used to construct temporary shell barriers
this requires additional reinforcing at the point of connection so
as to maintain the integrity of the connection in the event of an
impact. Further to the integrity of the connections, plastic shell
barriers can exhibit deformation in the form of stretching, whereby
the body of the impacted barrier and potentially both the impacted
barrier and adjacent barrier connection there between stretch and
deform. This deformation is due to the inability of the plastic
material of the connections and body of the barrier to withstand
the force required to move the mass of an adjacent barrier; which
will typically be filled with water. The mass of a water filled
barrier could be as much as 400-1000 Kg. Deformation of the
connections or body of a barrier again leads to the
kinking/stepping problem noted earlier.
Prior art barriers such as that recited in U.S. Pat. No. 5,425,594
teach the addition of wire cable and internal metal frameworks to
provide additional resiliency to the longitudinal axis of the
barrier. However such systems are complicated to manufacture and
the wire cable requires tensioning in order to provide adequate
tensile strength. Without sufficient tensile strength the barriers
are still capable of being deformed and causing kinking or steps in
a barrier wall and therefore the risk of an impacting vehicle being
spun or flipped.
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art, that an
orthogonally directed impact with a single temporary plastic
barrier will, depending on the inertia of the barrier and mass of
the impacting object, result in that barrier being shunted in the
direction of the impact. This shunting could potentially cause
damage to anything on the non-impact side of the barrier, a small
child for example. However, if the temporary plastic barrier forms
part of an interconnected chain of temporary plastic barriers, the
inertia of the impacted barrier is greatly increased. The reason
for this is that an orthogonal impact force is translated via the
connection portions into a longitudinal force along the line of
interconnected barriers. This places a large amount of force on the
connection portions as well as the body portion of the barrier
sections; particularly those at or near any point of impact.
It would therefore be useful for there to be provided an easily
manufacturable plastic shell barrier which is capable of being
connected to adjacent plastic shell barriers and which exhibits a
high resistance to tensional forces such that kinking is
minimised.
It is an object of the present invention to address the foregoing
problems or at least to provide the public with a useful
choice.
All references, including any patents or patent applications cited
in this specification are hereby incorporated by reference. No
admission is made that any reference constitutes prior art. The
discussion of the references states what their authors assert, and
the applicants reserve the right to challenge the accuracy and
pertinency of the cited documents. It will be clearly understood
that, although a number of prior art publications are referred to
herein, this reference does not constitute an admission that any of
these documents form part of the common general knowledge in the
art, in New Zealand or in any other country.
Throughout this specification, the word "comprise", or variations
thereof such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to
imply the inclusion of a stated element, integer or step, or group
of elements integers or steps, but not the exclusion of any other
element, integer or step, or group of elements, integers or
steps.
Further aspects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the ensuing description which is given by way of
example only.
SUMMARY
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided
a temporary plastic barrier section including: a plastic shell
having first and second plastic connection portions integrally
formed on opposite ends thereof; and a rigid straight elongate
member, wherein the rigid straight elongate member lies
substantially adjacent to at least a portion of each of the first
and second connection portions and wherein the rigid straight
elongate member includes connection points at the distal ends
thereof which are configured to align substantially with the first
and second connection portions, or form an additional connection
portion.
In preferred embodiments the plastic barrier shell includes a
passage which receives the rigid straight elongate member which
passes from an aperture near to, or substantially adjacent, the
first connection portion to a position adjacent to the second
connection portion.
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that the barrier
shell could take any number of shapes without departing from the
scope of the present invention.
It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that a barrier
shell may include connection portions in the form of recessed
and/or protruding elements. Each type of connection can be
configured such that the rigid straight elongate member is adjacent
the connection and either fully contained within the barrier shell
or having one or more ends positioned outside the barrier
shell.
It will also be apparent to a person skilled in the art that any
number of implementations exist for the operation of the connection
portions, as such the type of connection used should not be seen as
limiting. Examples of connection systems used in barriers include:
interlinking projections and recesses, wherein the connection
portions of adjacent barriers interlink and are held together by
passing a rigid pin or rod vertically through the interlinked
components; hook members, wherein one barrier includes a hooked
protrusion which is hooked into a complementary recess in an
adjacent barrier. These types of barriers are lifted and lowered
into position to hook them together; this is performed when the
barrier is empty of any ballast. Once hooked together the barriers
are filled with fluent material the mass of which makes it very
difficult to unhook the barriers.
In preferred embodiments the first and second connection portions
are complementary. It will be understood that complementary
connections allow adjacent plastic barriers shells to be directly
connected together, the first connection of one barrier connecting
to the second connection of an adjacent barrier.
In some embodiments the first and second connection portions may be
identical. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that
identical connections require a further component for
interconnection between barrier shells, a non-limiting list of such
components includes pins, `U` shaped pins, link members or the like
wherein one half of the `U` or link member attaches to a first
barrier shell and the other half attaches to an adjacent barrier
shell.
In preferred embodiments the rigid straight elongate member
exhibits sufficient tensile strength to substantially resist any
longitudinally directed impact forces and may be configured to pass
through the shell such that one, or both ends of the rigid straight
elongate member lie outside the shell.
In some preferred embodiments the rigid straight elongate member
may be configured to shear or break when subjected a direct impact
substantially orthogonal to the longitudinal axis of the rigid
elongate member. It will however be apparent to a person skilled in
the art that the rigid straight elongate member is shielded from
orthogonally directed impact forces by the barrier shell and
therefore the rigid straight elongate member will only sheer or
break if the shell is compromised and the rigid straight elongate
member is impacted directly.
In preferred embodiments the rigid straight elongate member
provides tensile strength to substantially resist any longitudinal
deformation of the plastic shell.
In preferred embodiments the rigid straight elongate member is a
substantially straight steel bar.
In preferred embodiments the plastic shell is hollow. The
advantages of a hollow barrier shell are known in the art and
include ease of transport when the shell is empty and on site
filling with a liquid or particle material such as, but not limited
to, water, gravel or sand for increased inertia.
In preferred embodiments the plastic shell has a base region and
includes: a first aperture therein positioned adjacent the first
connection portion; and a second aperture therein positioned
adjacent the second connection portion, wherein the apertures are
aligned substantially parallel with respect to the plane of the
base region on opposing ends of the plastic shell.
In some preferred embodiments the plastic shell may include
baffles, ribs, bracing or the like therein, the internal structure
of the plastic shell should therefore not be seen as being
limiting.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is
provided a plastic shell for a temporary plastic barrier section,
the plastic shell including: a first and a second connection
portion integrally formed on opposite ends of the plastic shell;
and a passage which passes from an aperture near to, or
substantially adjacent the first connection portion, to a position
near to, or substantially adjacent to, the second connection
portion.
In especially preferred embodiments the rigid straight elongate
member is configured to: pass through the passage; and lie near to,
or substantially adjacent to at least a portion of, each of, the
first and second connection portions.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is
provided a rigid straight elongate member for use with a plastic
shell; the plastic shell including a first and a second connection
portion integrally formed on opposite ends of the plastic shell;
and having a passage which passes from an aperture near to or
substantially adjacent the first connection portion to a position
near to or substantially adjacent to the second connection
portion;
wherein the rigid straight elongate member is configured to be
passed through the passage in the plastic shell and includes at
least one connection point at substantially each end thereof;
and
wherein the rigid straight elongate member is configured so that
when located in the plastic shell by way of the at least one
aperture the at least one connection point in each end of the rigid
straight elongate member lies substantially adjacent to a
corresponding connection point located in the first and second
connection portions of the said plastic shell.
In preferred embodiments the connection portions adjacent to which
the ends of the rigid straight elongate member are positioned are
located in, or upon, the upper half of the barrier shell.
In especially preferred embodiments the connection portions
adjacent to which the ends of the rigid straight elongate member
are positioned are located substantially at, or near, the top of
the barrier shell.
The occurrence of vehicles impacting and riding up and over
barriers is well known in the art of plastic barriers. The reason
for this phenomenon is that during impact the tyre of an impacting
vehicle will inevitably make contact with the bottom of a barrier.
Because of the grip of the tyre, rather than pushing the barrier
back, the tyre may roll up the face of the barrier, causing the
vehicle to flip, or to ride up and over the barrier. If the barrier
is attached to adjacent barriers by way of a rigid straight
elongate member, and at a high connection point, the barrier can
swing about the axis of the rigid straight elongate member. This
creates a barrier section which has greater moment of inertia in
the upper region of the barrier than in the bottom region of the
barrier. Consequently the bottom of the barrier is pushed inwards
during initial impact resulting in a reduced chance of contact
between the tyre and the barrier.
According to a further aspect of the present invention there is
provided a wall formed from a plurality of interconnected temporary
plastic barrier sections, wherein one or more of the temporary
plastic barrier sections includes a plastic shell having first and
second connection portions integrally formed on opposite ends
thereof, and a rigid straight elongate member lying substantially
adjacent to at least a portion of each of the first and second
connection portions, wherein: each temporary plastic barrier
section is interconnected by way of the first and/or second
connection portion to an adjacent temporary plastic barrier
section; and wherein connection between adjacent temporary plastic
barrier sections attaches: the connection portions of adjacent
plastic shells together; the rigid straight elongate members of
adjacent plastic barrier sections together.
A barrier forming a section of a temporary barrier wall, the
barrier including a rigid straight elongate member passing from a
first end to a second end of the barrier, wherein the respective
ends of the rigid straight elongate member are configured to be
connected to the rigid straight elongate member of an adjacent
barrier section.
Interconnection between the connection portions of a plastic
barrier shell with an associated rigid straight elongate member
results in a plastic barrier shell in which the connection portions
are held substantially rigidly with respect to each other. It will
be apparent to a person skilled in the art that both tensile and,
to a lesser extent, compressive forces applied to the connection
portions of a temporary plastic barrier which forms a section of a
plurality of interconnected plastic barrier shells will be passed
along the length of the rigid straight elongate member to the rigid
straight elongate member of an adjacent barrier.
In preferred embodiments the first connection portion of a barrier
is complementary with the second connection portion of an adjacent
barrier.
In preferred embodiments each of the first and second connection
portions include one or more apertures therethrough.
In preferred embodiments the apertures in the first and second
connection portions align coaxially with apertures in the portions
of the rigid straight elongate member which lie adjacent the
connection portions.
In preferred embodiments the apertures of the first and second
connection portions of adjacent barriers may be aligned
coaxially.
In preferred embodiments a single connecting element may be passed
through the coaxially aligned apertures of the first connection
portion and rigid straight elongate member of a first barrier and
the second connection portion and rigid straight elongate member of
an adjacent barrier.
In preferred embodiments the connecting element may be a steel pin
or rod, however the connecting element could take any number of
forms without departing from the scope of the present invention,
and therefore should not be seen as being limiting.
In preferred embodiments the end most barrier may not include an
rigid straight elongate member as a head end on impact with the
endmost barrier may result in compression of the plastic barrier
shell along the length of the rigid straight elongate member
potentially resulting in the skewering of the impacting vehicle by
the length of rigid straight elongate material.
In preferred embodiments the temporary plastic barrier shell
includes a base portion. The base portion of the temporary plastic
barrier is configured to abut and frictionally engage a ground
surface. It will be apparent to a person skilled in the art that
frictional engagement of the base with a ground surface restricts
movement of the temporary plastic barrier across that ground
surface during an impact.
Preferred embodiments of the present invention may provide a number
of advantages over the prior art, including but not limited to:
reducing the occurrence of barrier sections being shifted out of
line with adjacent barrier sections during an impact, and thereby
reducing the chance of a vehicle being spun or flipped; increasing
the inertia of individual barrier sections by transferring impact
energy along the integrated rigid straight elongate member and into
adjacent barrier sections; increasing the tensile resiliency of
barrier sections due to the rigid straight elongate member
resisting any elongation of the plastic shell or connection
portions during an impact.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further aspects of the present invention will become apparent from
the following description which is given by way of example only and
with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 shows a cross sectional isometric view of a barrier section
according to one preferred embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional isometric view of three of the
barrier sections shown in FIG. 1 interconnected to form a temporary
barrier wall in accordance with one aspect of the present
invention;
FIG. 3 shows an end view of a barrier section according to a
further embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 shows an isometric view of one preferred embodiment of a
rigid straight elongate member in accordance with the present
invention; and
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With respect to FIG. 1 there is shown a temporary barrier section
as generally indicated by arrow 1. Temporary plastic barrier
section 1 has a plastic shell 2 which is shown in cross-section
through the vertical sagittal plane. The temporary plastic barrier
shell has first connection portion 3 and second connection portion
4 located on opposite ends of thereof.
First connection portion 3 includes three vertically spaced
protruding interface members, indicated as 3a, 3b and 3c, each of
which includes a leading vertically oriented aperture 5a and a
trailing vertically oriented aperture 5b spaced apart from one
another along the sagittal plane of the barrier. The leading
vertically oriented apertures 5a and trailing vertically oriented
apertures 5b of each protruding interface member 3a, 3b, 3c are
coaxially aligned.
Second connection portion 4 is a vertically displaced mirror image
of first connection portion 3, including three vertically spaced
protruding interface members, indicated as 4a, 4b and 4c, each of
which includes a leading vertically oriented aperture 6a and a
trailing vertically oriented aperture 6b spaced apart from one
another along the sagittal plane of the barrier. The leading
vertically oriented apertures 6a and trailing vertically oriented
apertures 6b of each protruding interface member 4a, 4b, 4c are
coaxially aligned.
The vertical spacing between the base of the plastic shell 2 and
the three vertically spaced protruding interface members, 3a, 3b,
3c, of the first connection portion 3 is greater than the height
between the base of the plastic shell 2 and the three vertically
spaced protruding interface members 4a, 4b, 4c of the second
connection portion 4. In use the three vertically spaced protruding
interface members 4a, 4b, 4c of the second connection portion 4 of
a first temporary barrier section interlace vertically with the
three vertically spaced protruding interface members, 3a, 3b, 3c,
of the first connection portion 3 of an adjacent temporary barrier
section. This relationship is illustrated in FIG. 2.
Interlacing allows the option of: 1. Vertical alignment of the
leading vertically oriented apertures 5a of a first connection
portion 3 of a first barrier with the trailing vertically oriented
apertures 6b of a second barrier. This position also results in
alignment of the trailing vertically oriented apertures 5b of the
first connection portion 3 with the leading vertically oriented
apertures 6a of the second barrier. A locking rod inserted through
each of the coaxially aligned apertures results in the barriers
being held in fixed longitudinal alignment. 2. Vertical alignment
of the leading vertically oriented aperture 5a of the first
connection portion 3 of a first barrier with the leading vertically
oriented apertures 6a of a second barrier. A locking bolt or rod
inserted through the coaxially aligned leading apertures results in
the barriers being engaged together but free to rotate through a
limited angle about the locking bolt or rod.
It will be understood by a person skilled in the art that the
connection portions could be attached together in any number of
ways without departing from the scope of the present invention,
examples may include but should not be limited to, bolts, u clamps,
rods, pins or the like. The manner in which the barrier sections
connect together should therefore not be seen as being
limiting.
Temporary plastic barrier section 1 also includes a rigid straight
elongate member in the form of steel bar 7. The steel bar 7 passes
through the interior of plastic shell 2 and spans from first
connection portion 3 to second connection portion 4. The steel bar
7 includes two apertures at each end thereof which align co-axially
with the leading 5a, 6a and trailing 5b, 6b apertures in each of
the first connection portion 3 and second connection portion 4.
Manufacture of shell 2 can be performed by way of rotary molding,
the apertures 8a, 8b through which the ends of steel bar 7 protrude
are formed in the shell after rotary molding, by way of cutting a
slot in the shell 2, thereby forming a passage through the shell 2
through which steel bar 7 can be passed. FIG. 3 shows a further
embodiment of a barrier according to the present invention, as
generally indicated by arrow 100, the barrier 100 includes a
connection portion having two protruding members 101, 102 on one
end and three protruding members on the other end (not shown). The
barrier 100 includes an aperture 8 through which a rigid straight
elongate member (not shown) can be inserted into the shell 102. In
the embodiment of FIG. 3 the rigid straight elongate member (not
shown) but inserted through aperture 8a lies adjacent to the top
surface 103 of connection portion protruding member 101. On the
other end of the barrier (not shown) the rigid straight elongate
member (not shown) lies adjacent to the bottom surface (not shown)
of the top most connection portion protruding member (not shown).
The rigid straight elongate member 200 (shown in FIGS. 4 and 5)
includes a substantially straight rigid bar 201. At each end of the
rigid straight elongate member 200 are apertures 202, 203 which are
sized and positioned to align substantially co-axially with
corresponding apertures 5a, 5b and 6a, 6b in the connection
portions 3a, 4a, 101 of a plastic shell 2 of barrier 1, 100.
In FIG. 1 first aperture 8a is positioned adjacent the bottom
surface of first connection portion 3a and a second aperture 8b is
positioned adjacent the top surface of second connection portion
4a. The apertures 8a, 8b are aligned normal to opposing ends of the
shell from the first connection portion to the second connection
portion. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 the passage through the shell
is substantially parallel to the base 9 of shell 2. Steel bar 7 is
slid through an aperture 8a or 8b through the shell and out an
opposing aperture 8a or 8b. The steel bar 7 is positioned parallel
to the base 9 of shell 2 thereby providing a high level of tensile
strength in the longitudinal direction of the shell 2. The
apertures of steel bar 7 align co-axially with the apertures 5a, 5b
and 6a, 6b of connection portions 3 or 4.
With respect to FIG. 2 there is shown three interconnected
temporary barrier sections as generally indicated by arrow 20.
First barrier section 21 second connection portion 4 is interlaced
with second barrier section 22 first connection portion 3. First
and second connection portion 3,4 vertically oriented apertures 5a,
5b (shown in FIG. 1) of first barrier section 21 and vertically
oriented apertures 6a, 6b (shown in FIG. 1) of second barrier
section 22 align coaxially and are pinned in position by fastening
rods 24. Second barrier section 22 and third barrier section 23 are
fastened together in a similar manner, first and second Connection
portion 3,4 vertically oriented apertures 5a, 5b of second barrier
section 22 and vertically oriented apertures 6a, 6b of third
barrier section 23 align coaxially and are pinned in position by
fastening rods 25.
During an impact between a vehicle and second barrier section 22 in
direction A and impacting near point B, the second barrier section
22 experiences a vectored impact force. The force acts to push the
barrier section 22 both in direction B and towards third barrier
section 23. Second barrier section 22 is prevented from moving out
of alignment with barrier sections 21 and 23 due to the impact
forces being passed along steel bar 22a through connection portions
3 and 4 and fastening rods 24 and 25 into steel bar 21a and steel
bar 23a. The steel bars in adjacent barrier sections pass the
impact energy along a line of barrier sections (in this case only 3
are shown). Furthermore the plastic deformation (elongation) that
would typically result in the body of adjacent connected barrier
sections is avoided due to the tensile force being concentrated in
the steel bar. In this manner the inertia of a single barrier
section can be greatly increased due to the inertia of adjacent
barrier sections.
Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of
example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and
additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope
thereof as defined in the appended claims.
* * * * *